


Duele El Corazón

by greenleafin



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: (surprise surprise haha), Angst, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Long-Term Relationship(s), M/M, Porn With Plot, Pre-Canon, Pre-Game(s), Sad and Happy, Secret Relationship, Smut, Time Skips, debatably hopeful ending, like eat ur heart out padme and anakin bad, worst secret relationship ever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-29 15:08:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7689286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greenleafin/pseuds/greenleafin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It started off so well, like everything always does. Terrible circumstances and misunderstandings can ruin even the best of things.</p><p> </p><p>Collections of Gabriel Reyes's and Jack Morrison's time in Overwatch</p>
            </blockquote>





	Duele El Corazón

There are a lot of things Jack Morrison is. Kind, competitive, oblivious. He's been training for so long and he _still_ never manages to check the damn corners.

Something huge hits him from behind, bringing him to the floor and pinning his wrists down before he even realizes that the hell is happening. He could struggle, he could fight back, but whoever's on him is too big, is too damn strong to be thrown off so easily. Whoever it was was only a little bit heavier, but the way they were concentrating their weight left no room for bucking. With a loud _oof_ he's flipped over onto his back, waiting for a knife to be held to his throat or a gun to his head and—

And he smiles so brightly that it hurts his attacker to look at. "Gabe, what're you doing here? You're supposed to be at training until six tonight."

Gabriel offers a returning grin, one that makes Jack's heart skip a beat. "I didn't wanna be away from you that long." They brush noses once, twice, almost a third time before Jack lifts his head off the floor to meet Gabriel's lips, which quirk up again before he returns the kiss. They break apart after a few moments, and Gabriel stands up, hauling the blonde with him. Jack wants to scold him for skipping his target practice, Gabriel can feel it. It's like a premonition of a disaster, the feeling is like when a dog can't stop whining before a big storm. Or something like that anyway. He could stop it, probably very easily, but he loved hearing Jack's voice. Even if it was telling him how much trouble he was going to be in.

Jack opened his mouth to speak, and one of Gabriel's eyebrow quirked up in waiting. "If they find out you're missing they're gonna punish you!"  _There it is._

"Ooo, i'm so scared," Gabriel teased, resting his hands on the other man's pale hips.

"I'm serious! The last time you skipped, we barely got to see each other for a whole week. What did they make you do again?" Gabriel grumbled out an answer, and Jack repeated him out loud. "Yeah, they made you clean all of the men's bathrooms on base. Twice." Of course, he would love to go on, but the fake-hurt look Gabriel was giving him was too damn cute to resist. So, instead of continuing his rant, he wrapped his arms around the other man's broad shoulders. 

Their lips were so close they were almost touching, but neither closed the gap just yet.

"Is me skipping practice really the most important thing on your mind right now?" Gabriel's rich, dark eyes stared into Jack's, and the blonde began to blush. That was one (of the many) things that Gabriel adored about his lover—When Jack's cheeks turned pink, so did the rest of him. The blonde tilted his head up for a kiss, but the other wanted to tease him a bit more first. "Whoa, whoa, slow down there, baby. What makes you think I came back here to make out? I just wanted to take a nap with the love of my life." Jack perked up a little bit, keen to have his ego stroked, but Gabriel continued. "My _bed_ is the love of my life." The pout he received was cute.

Jack huffed, scrunching up his nose. "Then I can leave now if you want." Gabriel's hands tightened on his hips, and Jack knew what was coming next. His back hit the wall within a second and he let his mouth fall open to gasp quietly when Gabriel's hips ground into his.

Gabriel let go of Jack's right hip with one hand, and used it to wrap into blonde locks. "Don't you fucking dare, Jackie." Jack smiled at this, eyes already going a little hazy. God he was easy.

Hands from both men worked to remove clothing from the other. Jack needed both of his to get Gabriel's belt undone, while the (barely) taller man had an easier time of unzipping Jack's jacket. Jack's head was tugged back gently so that Gabriel could place a kiss on his neck, and then another. "Thank you for not wearing your stupid fucking turtle neck," Gabriel whispered, then slipped his hand below the waistband of Jack's sweatpants and his eyebrows quirked up. "Or underwear." That blush was back and Jesus, Gabriel was having a rough time of it keeping himself in control.

Finally Jack managed to open Gabriel's pants, and he shifted his attention to pulling the t-shirt over Reyes's head, immediately kissing him again once the grey thing was off. Gabriel was all too happy to oblige this, helping Jack shrug off his little coat from his shoulders. Both of their naked chests were heaving, though the younger's slightly more so. Jack always was so easy to wind up, even before they were dating. Gabriel still refused to move his fingers from their hold in Jack's hair, and the other man's hands were busy running along Gabriel's tanned back muscles. Once they had started kissing again, neither of them wanted to break apart to move away from the wall, or to shimmy out of their pants. So instead, Gabriel allowed Jack to rut against his leg, feeling him moan into Gabriel's mouth, fast approaching needy. If the blonde could talk he would already be whispering out ' _please, please._ '

Shit, Gabriel wanted to hear that. He pulled his head away gently, and Jack fucking whined. "You can't be that worked up already, baby," he panted, "Somebody get you all bothered before I caught you here?" Gabriel grinned, knowing fully that Jack would never even look at another man like he did Gabriel.

"Had a dream with you in it," came the short answer, accented with soft heaves. Gabriel moved a hand down Jack's sweatpants once again, grasping the man's member and relishing in the moan and closing of blue eyes he got in return.

"A wet dream?"

Jack took a moment, then nodded, and oh fuck that was it.

Gabriel lifted Jack up by his slim little hips, and Jack got the memo, wrapping his legs around the other man's waist. He kicked off his tennis shoes since he wasn't standing, and soon he was being dropped onto the bed with his large boyfriend dragging Jack's trousers off, and he lifted his lower body to assist Gabriel. In a matter of seconds Jack was completely naked, and Gabriel stared at the sight before him, breathless and eyes wide. It didn't matter how many times they've had sex (or Gabriel liked to say ' _they fucked'_ in this deep voice of his to embarrass Jack), the younger of the two would always turn bright red when he was exposed like this, exactly how Gabriel was seeing him right now. Gabriel was staring at Morrison like there was nothing else in the world that mattered but them.

In the two seconds that it took Jack to think about all of this, Reyes had made his way in between his pale legs, allowing Jack to wrap them once again around a sturdy waist. Gabriel was currently making it his life's mission to mark every single available space on Jack's neck a dark purple. He was doing fairly well too if the moans coming from the man underneath him were any indication. Jack kept trying in vain to grind himself on Gabriel's stomach, but the older man kept himself annoyingly arched out of reach.

Only once the groans of approval and little whimpers stopped did the black haired man look up to see what was wrong. Jack had taken to biting on his knuckle again, half looking like he was trying to shove his entire fist in his mouth.

Well for one, that would be stupid. Jack had fairly large hands and he could never get one in his pretty little mouth.

For another, him stifling himself just would not do.

"Hey." Jack's eyes were squeezed shut, but they fluttered open slowly when Gabriel spoke. Gently, Gabriel pulled Jack's fist away from his mouth and whispered, "None of that." All Jack could do was nod and let out a surprised gasp when Gabriel fisted his hand in his hair again. The older man, for his part, never needed to be told that Jack fucking loved his hair being pulled, played with, or even just stroked. There was a time Gabriel had convinced another soldier to rub the blonde's head for a long while, and Jack god damned near cried he was so happy. Gabriel told him that he was cute after when they were walking in the halls, and Jack body-checked him into a wall for it.

"Fuck, Gabe, _please_."

There it was. Gabriel could never resist him for long, and with a quick press to Jack's lips, he reached over to the tiny little nightstand by his bed and pulled out a bottle of lube. He spread some on his fingers, smiling at the scent of bubblegum, _because it'll be funny!_ Jack told him when they got it.

Much to Morrison's dismay, his beau separated himself from Jack, but this disappointment was quickly replaced with a thick finger tracing at his rim. Once it made its way inside of him, he whined and clamped his hands to his mouth. It only took one look from Gabriel to remind him to remove his fists. Even though everyone had separate rooms (except for the unluckier new recruits), Jack was still worried about being loud enough where someone could hear them. Gabriel was doing a pretty good job of making him forget about keeping quiet though.

One finger turned into two, and the older of the men began scissoring his fingers, not letting up even when the body underneath him began to buck and shiver out of excitement. He heard a muffled "Hurry up," and smiled, deciding to go even slower just to tease Jack. The blonde man let out an undignified grumble, and was reprimanded for it by Gabriel beginning to remove his fingers. Quickly, Jack spat out, "No! No, sorry, please no."

"That's what I thought," Gabriel replied, slipping a third finger into Jack for good behavior. Jack began moving himself in time with Gabriel's stroking, steadily growing more frustrated even as a fourth finger was added. The bastard was doing this on purpose, Jack knew that, but if he complained it would get worse.

Even still, he was panting and moaning gently, keeping his eyes shut tightly. When he finally could take the torment no longer, he slowly blinked his baby blues open. He made eye contact with Gabriel, and Jesus Christ was the man gorgeous. Jack's mouth went dry for a moment before remembering what he was planning on. "Hey," he paused to make sure that Reyes was listening, and also to take a quick gulp of air. Gabriel moved his hand from Jack's hair to rest at the man's throat, just keeping it there without applying any pressure. His other hand slowed once more, allowing Jack to actually think for a fucking second. "You know what I was gonna do when I came in here?" Gabriel could say nothing, too transfixed on the way Jack's lips were parted, wet and shiny. He wanted to kiss him so badly but he was interested in what Jack had to say.

"I came in here to jerk myself off after that dream with you in it. I wanted to put on one of your jackets so I could smell you the whole time, I wanted to—"

And that was the end of Gabriel's slow teasing. With a final grunt, Gabriel removed his fingers and took only a brief second to lather some more lube on his cock, and kissed the blonde while edging himself inside of him. Jack could be a manipulative fuck when he wanted, but at least he was a  _pretty_ manipulative fuck. 

He was met with practically no resistance. Jack was beyond prepared for this, and the way that he groaned into Gabriel's mouth only served to spur him further. Jack's arms went around Gabriel's neck, and they pulled away an inch or two after a minute to breathe, Jack burying his face into the thick neck above him. Gabriel, in turn thrusting into the man for the first time that night. Jack let out a quick and loud, "Fuck!" Trying to suck in a breath before Gabe quickened his pace. He didn't get much of a chance to, however, as one shove of Reyes's hips turned into two, then three.

"Every goddamn part of you is thick, you asshole." Gabriel snorted at this, knowing that even if Jack sounded like he was complaining, he definitely loved every inch of him.

Jack kept trying to keep Gabriel inside of him, whining profusely each time his lover would pull out. His legs attempted to lock around Gabriel's hips, and each time the older man would gently loosen the Jack's limbs and chuckle, "Baby, just let me do my job." Jack nodded and moved his arms so that he could grab at the pillow with one hand, the sheets in the other. His chest was bowed upwards, and Gabriel helped himself to a pink nipple, biting it hard enough to have the owner of it gasp noisily, but not hard enough to hurt Jack. No, never hurt him unless he asked for it, that is. Tonight was about getting those pretty blue eyes unfocused and hazy, about getting the best sounds to come out of him. Jack had wanted this so badly when he entered Gabriel's room, and Gabriel'd be damned if he wouldn't give it to him.

Gabriel was mostly draped over Jack by now, only using one forearm to support himself, using his other hand to rub the nipple he wasn't sucking on. Jack was absolutely losing his mind, trying to wiggle his body each time Gabriel thrusted into him, trying so desperately not to make any noise and failing so bad. Gabriel could barely keep himself in check, his rational thoughts slowly being defeated by the sheer intensity of being inside of Jack.

The first time Morrison whispered "Gabe," the larger man almost didn't hear it. The second time he whispered it, Gabriel looked up to see Jack with his lips parted, looking up at him with his eyes so lidded they were almost closed. Gabriel's own mouth went dry, and this time when he rocked his hips into Jack's ass, he shoved the man upwards.

Arms found themselves wrapped around Gabriel's shoulders once again, and Gabriel wound one arm underneath Jack's neck, moving the other to hold onto a slim hip. Jack's moans grew louder and more intense, and when he wasn't completely unable to form words, the only one he could call out was Gabriel's name. He knew he had hit Jack's prostate when the blonde nearly fucking yelled out. He hit it over and over again, and Jack couldn't think past, "Gabriel, Gabe, Gabriel, oh fuck, _Gabriel_ , Reyes, please, please fuck, _FUCK_!" His arms were so tight abound Gabriel's neck, but that just gave the older man an excuse to leave mark after mark on pale, exposed flesh.

Both of them were close to release, and Gabriel couldn't stop mumbling things that made absolutely no sense, but they seemed right at the time.

"Baby, Jesus Christ. Oh, baby, you're so fucking tight. You like it like this, huh? You love me being in you?" Jack's face was heating up quickly, turning pinker and pinker by the moment. He tried to cover his face, but Gabriel wouldn't let him. He pulled Jack's arms away from his face, pinning them above his head. "Come on, I wanna see you, you wouldn't hide your pretty face from me would you?"

"God, shut up." Jack said this with a smile, and threw his head back and let out a loud moan right after. Gabriel latched his teeth onto Jack's neck once again, holding Jack's wrists with one hand, and taking his cock in the other to stroke just three times before the blonde choked out a moan, sputtering cum onto Gabriel's hand and his own stomach. Once he was done, he could do nothing but breathe heavily, any thought he ever had in his head vanished in an instant. Gabriel pulled away so that he could look at how far gone Jack was then, blue eyes unable to focus on anything, expression one of absolute, pure bliss.

"Holy shit, Jackie. Holy shit." Jack looked at him without exactly  _looking_  at him, and he smiled sleepily. He jerked his hips slowly, reaching up so he could run his hands down Gabriel's chest. Gabriel took his cue to continue thrusting, but it took only a few more moments before he leaned over to place his forehead on Jack's shoulder, mouthing at his skin while he came. Both of them were heaving, though Gabriel was louder than Jack at the moment.

Since the younger man was too far gone to do much of anything, Gabriel took it upon himself to grab Jack's long-abandoned shirt off the floor and a water bottle, soaking a part of the cloth so that he could wipe off the mess they had made. When he reached between Jack's legs to clean out his ass, he had to trace the rim of his abused hole. Jack let out a pathetic little whimper at the sensation. Gabriel hushed him with a kiss, throwing the shirt back on the floor as soon as he was done. With some shuffling around, they made it so that Gabriel was on his back, Jack resting his upper half on top of him. They were silent for a long while, Jack becoming more able to form actual sentences and phrases both in his head and aloud.

"Thank you so fucking much for coming back early." Gabriel couldn't help but laugh at this, and Jack turned his head up to offer a grin. Gabriel smoothed some of the hair off of his forehead that had gotten stuck there.

"Hey, I have a question for you, angelito."

"Hm?"

"When you said you came in here earlier to jerk yourself off, did you really mean _Jack_ off?"

The resulting groan was as much heard as felt when Jack slapped Gabriel on his chest. "Oh my god, please die." Gabriel only laughed at this, and neither of them spoke. Jack's eyes were closed, and his breathing was so slow that the older man thought he had fallen asleep, until he heard a barely audible plea.

"Please don't leave me."

Gabriel felt his breath hitch in his throat, reminded again of just how much in love with Jack as he was. It took him a moment to speak, wanting to make absolute sure Jack heard and comprehended just how deeply and much Gabriel cared for him. He shifted a bit so he could properly look Jack in the face, using his fingers to make the man look at him.

"Never. Do you understand me? I'm not going anywhere. I am never leaving you, Jack Morrison."

Jack sniffed, trying not to let a tear slip. He didn't say anything else, but he nodded, and the two laid down again. If Gabriel noticed how tightly Jack was holding him as they slept, he didn't say anything.

 

\----------------

 

"They're probably gonna make you cut your hair soon."

Gabriel was lying with his head in Jack's lap, close to dozing off as the younger man ran his fingers through black, curly hair. The days that they had entirely off together were few and far between, and they were both determined to make the most of it. Gabriel just hummed in response, prompting a very light tug. Alright. He'd rise to the bait. "I'm always wearing a hat anyway, why should anyone care?"

Jack shrugged. "I hope they shave it all off." Gabriel popped one dark eye open. Jack loved his eyes, they were such a soft and comforting shade. Like some gemstone he always had to think hard for the name of. He had looked up a plethora of brown minerals back in their 'writing love letters to try and woo the other' days. The exact line Jack had used was, " _Your eyes are like a beautiful, brown, shiny sinhalite. I could look at them forever. Which is to say I think your eyes are really pretty._ " He cringed at remembering this, and how the two of them had locked their horribly written letters in a drawer, promising each other to never mention them again. Gabriel's note wasn't much better, with " _Your hair reminds me of corn, which you like because you're from Indiana. And your eyes are like an ocean. Your ass is great too."_

_Eat your heart out, Shakespeare._

"You don't really hope they shave my head."

"Yeah I do, completely bald. I hope they keep you like that too." Gabriel reached a hand up to swat at Jack's face, and the blonde man giggled, leaning down to press a quick kiss to Gabriel's lips.

He took a moment to respond, twisting in Jack's lap so that he could look up at the sky, and more importantly, up at Jack.  _Most_ importantly however was the view of the nice swell of Jack's tits in his form-fitting black shirt. Thank god for the little things. "You know, I shaved my head once when i was sixteen. My abuela said I had the weirdest shaped head she had ever seen, and she forbade me to ever do it again. Ever since then I have sworn off razors except for trims." 

"Wow." Jack snorted, and patted Gabriel right on the chest. "Alright, up 'n at 'em, my legs are falling asleep." 

With a grumble, Gabriel did as he was asked, slowly moving to rest his back against the same tree that Jack was. The blonde shifted so that he could lay his head on the other's shoulder and let out a deep sigh. "If I really, really wanted you to shave your head you would." 

"Yeah." 

"Because you love me?" 

Gabriel looped his arm around Jack's shoulders, brushing his nose through the younger man's hair before placing a solid kiss on his forehead. "Yes." 

They sat in silence then for a long time. They were far enough away from the buildings on base that no one would find them where they were. Or so they liked to think at the very least. Jack kept himself nuzzled into the crook of Gabriel's arm, and Gabriel kept his mouth shut even though he wanted to tell Jack that he would do anything to keep him safe, to make him happy. Then again, he didn't feel like crying, or making Jack cry like they both had the last time they had a very serious conversation about just how much they cared for each other. Which is to say, like they both had two nights ago. Jack started sobbing, and of course Gabriel followed after him and they ended up clinging to each other for the rest of the night. Sweet, but messy. 

Eventually though, no matter how much they both wanted to never leave the shade of that tree, the fact that Jack's stomach constricted on absolutely nothing made the decision to go back in for the both of them. Gabriel stood up and hauled the blonde with him, earning him a smile and a quick kiss.

"I love you." 

Gabriel's entire chest seized up and he smiled back, unable to stop it even if he wanted to. "I love you too." 

 

\----------------

 

"Morrison! I said that's  _enough!"_ The sheer anger and volume in the tone caused Jack to stop immediately, smile slowly slipping off his face as it took it a few moments to process that Gabriel had just  _yelled_  at him. 

As soon as Jack took a hurried step back, Gabriel realized what he had done. He properly realized  _who_ he had screamed at. "Oh my god, baby—" 

"I'm sorry!" His face crumpled, pretty blue eyes beginning to fill up with tears. Gabriel tried moving closer towards him, but the look on Jack's face told him that he shouldn't. 

Never before had Gabriel shouted at him like he just had. 

All Jack had done was wrap his arms around his lover's waist and kiss the back of his neck. He hadn't really heard the first warning, but he damn sure heard the snarl that came after. His eyes darted around the room, and he bit his lip, refusing to cry right then. "Jack, Jack, I am so sorry. I-I didn't mean to yell at you like that. There's no excuse for it, oh god I'm sorry, baby." The other man didn't say anything in return, but the bob of his head at least indicated that he heard what Gabriel had to say. 

He drew in a inhaled quietly, staring at the ground as he spoke. "I know...I know that it's been really tough for you lately, running Blackwatch and all. But...You never talk to me about it." He quickly let his eyes dart up to see a reaction on Gabriel's face. What he found was a pained expression, and he let his gaze fall down to the floor once again. "It seems so hard on you, but I don't know what you're going through enough to help. You won't tell me  _anything."_ The crack in his voice then let Gabriel know exactly how close he was to crying. Still though, Jack went on. "And...And-" That was when he broke down. 

Jack didn't protest when Gabriel nearly tripped over himself to embrace the blonde. Instead he wrapped his arm's around the older man's waist and buried his face in Gabriel's chest. Gabriel in turn wound his fingers in Jack's hair with one arm, and had the other gripping Jack's back. There was nothing that he could say other than how sorry he was, and he did so over and over again. Jack's hiccuped little sobs vibrated in his chest, and he hated himself more than anything for making him feel like this. After a minute of this Gabriel felt a tear slide down his cheek, another one following after it. He bit his lip to avoid letting Jack know, because if the blonde found out he would try to comfort Gabriel. With one final apology, the brunette buried his face in his lover's hair, sucking in a shaky breath. 

It took a little while for the two of them to calm down enough to part. Arguments never lasted long between them. Time apart, or time spent angry at each other always caused anxiety and uneasiness, and both were always scrambling to see who could atone faster just to be in each other's arms again.

The commander of Overwatch would  _never_ let another person look at him while he was like this, but Reyes was always the exception. This was the case for about everything in Jack's life it seemed. Regardless, Gabriel still managed to smile softly at the puffy-eyed mess in front of him, stretching his neck a bit so that he could kiss Jack's forehead. "Jackie, rubito, I am so sorry. I didn't even fuckin' know that it was you and this week was just..." 

Gabriel trailed off, the hands he had used to cup Jack's cheeks just a moment going limp and falling to fists at his side. The look on his face was one of pure disgust. 

Not knowing what else to do, the younger man took one of Gabriel's callused hands in his own, bringing it up to his lips so he could press a quick kiss to it. Gabriel looked at him then, mouth twitching in an attempt at a reassuring grin. 

"Gabe." When the older man grunted, Jack tried again. "Gabe, you know you can tell me anything." 

"Not this, baby, not this." 

"Why don't you tell me anything? There aren't supposed to be secrets between Overwatch and Blackwatch and not fucking between..." Gabriel's eyes snapped back up as Jack paused. "Not between us." Instead of answering right away, Gabriel moved away quickly, going to sit on the bed that they shared. They'd come a long way from needing to hide their relationship, and once they both became leaders of their respective groups, accommodations were made so that two large men didn't have to share a tiny cot. 

Some days though Reyes wished they could go back to then. 

"I just don't want to talk about it, alright?" Jack came over to kneel between Gabriel's legs looking up at him with such earnest concern. 

He couldn't tell him that the real reason he was keeping everything secret was to protect Jack. If he knew what really went on...

"I read the mission reports." Gabriel narrowed his eyes at that, not saying anything just yet. "I know there hasn't been one filed about this last one, but it's only a matter of time before I read that one too." Again, the older man remained quiet. Jack sighed, and continued. "I know what happens and I won't...I'm not gonna judge you. You and everyone else are just doing your jobs. So maybe if you just talk to me about it I can help-" 

"Jesus  _christ,_ Jack. Just let it go! You're not  _there_ you don't see all the shit that goes on, and I am doing absolutely everything in my goddamn power to make sure it stays that way!" His voice had steadily risen until it was just below a shout. He didn't mean to lose his temper, especially not with the man he loved. But he just wanted...He didn't even know  _what_ he wanted. 

Once again the two of them fell into complete silence. Gabriel whispered "Fuck," and ripped off his beanie to scratch his head furiously. Jack rocked back on his heels, standing up. 

Only just now did Gabriel realize that Jack was wearing one of his jackets over the blonde's own clothes. "Listen, I'm sorry—" 

"Maybe you should leave for tonight." 

"What?" Since the first time they had even done as much as  _kiss_ they had never spent a night apart unless ordered to. Jack didn't answer him, just bit the inside of his cheek and Gabriel, this time failing to keep the crack out of his voice, repeated himself. "What?" 

"If you can't trust me enough—" 

"Jack, that's not fucking it!" 

"—And you're tired, you need a shower and I don't want to fight anymore. Just...Just for tonight...And we'll see each other in the morning?" Jack refused to look Gabriel in the eye, instead finding the corner of the best incredibly interesting. Well, at least Gabriel agreed with him on one thing. He didn't want to fight anymore either. As he moved around the room gathering shower supplies, an extra blanket, a change of clothes, he realized that maybe Jack was right. They both needed to cool off, and they wouldn't do it when they kept repeating the same argument over and over. Maybe taking a night off was the right thing, they could both think more clearly knowing the other was safe, sort out what they wanted to say without yelling. Alright, if this is how Jack wanted it, then fine. 

Morrison walked Gabriel to the door, still only looking at the floor. His lip was quivering, and Gabriel couldn't blame him. Before stepping out, he tucked a finger under Jack's pale chin, tilting it up so that their lips could meet. Their kiss was brief, but at least Jack looked at him after. They rested their foreheads against each other, and Gabriel whispered, "I love you." 

"I love you too." 

With that, Gabriel was out. He took a shower, one so long that the water turned cold, and only bothered with a pair of sweatpants before climbing into his bed. He was surprised there wasn't a layer of dust on the thing, he couldn't even remember the last time it was used. Either way, he settled in and pulled the blanket to his face. It didn't smell much like Jack, but the faint trace was enough to calm him a bit.  _Maybe I can do this. Just one night, see Jack in the morning. We can talk. It'll be alright._

It was the loneliest night of his life. 

 

\----------------

 

Jack was blown backwards by the strength of the blast. A bastion had managed to get behind him, and he had only just turned around before canon fire hit the ground before him. 

That was all Gabriel cared about now. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as soon as he had seen the robot approaching Jack. He shot the one vulnerable point on the thing's back, effectively eliminating it. From there, he ran. He fell once while trying to get to Jack. Twice.  _Too far, he's too far._ When he finally reached him he immediately went on his knees, hands hovering over the man's body, searching desperately for any signs of injuries. The only one that he could find was a scratch above Jack's brow, one that probably wouldn't even scar. There was no one immediately around them, and if there were Gabriel would kill anyone who wasn't on their side for even thinking to look in their direction. Even still, he was knocked unconscious. Gabriel wanted to cradle him, hold him until he woke, but there could be broken bones, internal damage...

Gabriel screamed for Angela. He couldn't see her, but he knew she wasn't far. Fighting down panic, he ran through the options in his head. Ana was positioned about half a mile away from them, she couldn't make it in time. She needed to concentrate on taking out as many of the omnics she could, keep them from getting overrun. Reinhardt? No, he couldn't help. Tobjörn couldn't have done anything regardless of where he was. Would he be able to run to the medics with Jack on his back? No, too many people, too many omnics, too much attention. They were right in the middle of the war zone. Can't run. Where the  _fuck_ was Angela?

Almost as if on-cue, her blonde head popped up over a hill. She turned around, popped off a few shots towards her pursuers. As soon as she got close enough, Gabriel guided her with a hand on her waist towards Jack. He had to shout to be heard, and he was only just now realizing how loud everything was. That she had heard him was a miracle in itself. Or if she hadn't, and had just shown up...Gabriel didn't want to think what would happen if she wasn't there. 

"Take care of him, I've got us covered." She nodded, crouching down on the other side of Jack, and Gabriel sprang to his feet, eyes roaming around, looking for any threat. There were two of the bots coming after them, either following Ziegler, or they had finally noticed the three humans huddled together. 

Whatever the case was, he blew one hole each in both of their heads. 

He wanted to see what Angel was doing, wanted to see how Jack was doing, but he couldn't afford to tear his concentration away from the field. He managed to take four more out before there was a break in the action. Still though, he kept searching for anything that could put the three of them in danger. It took several times shouting his name to get Gabriel's attention. He turned around, and was greeted with the best thing he had seen all day. 

Angela was supporting him, but Jack's eyes were open, though the look of absolute pain was easy to see. Gabriel looked around them, and finding nothing he took Jack from their medic's arms. "Jack...oh Jesus..." They were supposed to be more secretive, but any thought of hiding his relief went right out the window. 

Mercy looked on, watching Gabriel press kiss after kiss to Jack's forehead, and the blonde was slowly losing the lost and hurt expression, grabbing onto Gabriel's arms. 

She coughed, and only then did the older man look at her. "Shit, Angela—" He stopped when she shook her head. 

"I won't tell anyone. He's fine, just watch him until he can move in a minute. And you." She turned her attention to Jack then. "Right to the infirmary after this is over, you can't sleep until you get your head checked out. Understand?" They both nodded, and she closed her eyes and let out a breath of air. "I must leave. Stay safe." She looked around herself, making to do as she said. As she stood up though, Gabriel grabbed her wrist. Hard enough to get her attention, but not anywhere near hard enough to keep her if she was determined to leave right then. 

"Thank you." 

There was a loud shot right as he said this, but she could read his lips just fine. More gunfire sounded off after that, so she patted his hand before taking off once again, her small pistol and incredible more than enough to protect her as she scouted for other Overwatch soldiers in need. 

Gabriel had bought them time, but not much. Jack groaned as he tried to stand, moving his sore muscles as quickly as he could. Gabriel wrapped an arm around his waist, letting him be Jack's support until he was able to stand on his own. 

"Come on, mi cariño, you can do this."

Jack grunted. Just as their doc had said, it only took a him a minute to be able to move properly again, though his entire body ached. As they moved, he grabbed a pulse rifle from a fallen man, silently thanking him for his sacrifice. After that incident, Gabriel was never more than twenty feet from Jack. Neither of them spoke, not until the few remaining omnics began to retreat. They could see Tobjörn and Reinhardt chasing after a few stragglers. Normally they would join them, but Jack collapsed to his knees, exhausted. Gabriel was at his side in an instant, asking him if he was alright, if he needed to be carried. 

The blonde snorted, "I don't need you hovering over me, Gabe. I'm okay." 

"I don't need you to be so damn  _reckless."_ Even though Gabriel led their little group, and would have been devastated if anything happened to a single one of them, everything was so much more amplified with Jack. As was to be expected. 

Instead of arguing, the younger of the two offered up a smile, however weak it was. He could see the worry in Gabriel's pretty brown eyes, and he reached up to cup the other's cheek. "I promise. I'm okay. I'm sorry for scaring you." 

"Wasn't scared," Gabriel grumbled, but at Jack's raised eyebrow, he sighed. "I was scared." Jack's smile didn't fade even as they both leaned in to kiss each other, relaxing now that everything was over for the day. They were allowed a few brief seconds before they heard Ana whooping loudly. They pulled apart just as she got close enough to see them properly. She was grinning, and had her rifle slung over her back. Her hat was hanging half off her head, and the tattoo below her eye was almost completely covered in dirt. Come to think of it, so was the rest of her honestly. Still though, she was unharmed, and ecstatic that her teammates were alive as well. She bounded towards them, and clapped them each on the back, Jack letting out a bark of pain. 

She had the decency to look sheepishly at him for a moment before speaking. "Everyone's accounted for. Guys, we did awesome today. And by awesome I mean that we didn't die." Gabriel looked at his lover, and Jack kept his focus on Ana. She crouched in front of him them, suddenly straight faced. "You okay, Jackie?" 

He nodded, but retorted with, "Don't call me that though." 

"He gets to." She jerked her thumb in Gabriel's direction, and if Jack's face turned a little pink, well then he would blame that on the fact that he was overheating, nothing else. 

Saving him from any further embarrassment, Gabriel stepped in. "Are you me?" She laughed, and shook her head. "Seriously though. A bastion almost took him out." Her eyes widened, and her face whipped towards him again. 

"No it didn't!" He looked frantically from Gabriel to Ana. "I just passed out for a couple minutes and now I'm sore, it's fine. Gabe and Angela took care of me. And, hey, like you said, we're alive." Ana looked skeptical at that, but decided to drop it. Jack reached out a hand so that she could haul him up, and Gabriel followed suit. The three made their way to the medic tents, getting quick check ups before they could be led back to camp. They had another few weeks out here before trucks would show up to take them back to base, though the likelihood of them encountering more of the fighting was low. Jack's head was checked out, confirming that he didn't have a concussion, but (Gabriel noted with a smug smirk), he would have to take it easy for a while. Eventually, all of their team gathered together for Gabriel's final speech of the day. 

It was quick, and Jack found himself nearly dozing off several times. After it was over, the group began to dissipate, each member heading off to their respective tents. Jack didn't want to move from his spot in his chair, legs nearly cramping at just the thought of it. Gabriel came to stand in front of him, a gentle smile on his face. "You feeling alright? Normally you have something to contribute to my motivational monologues." 

Jack nodded, and held out his hand. Gabriel took it, and together they got Jack into a standing position, though he rocked back and forth unsteadily. Gabriel took that as his cue to clasp his hands together behind Jack's back, holding the blonde flush against him. His cheeks got a little darker as soon as he did, something that didn't go unnoticed by Jack, even as tired as he was. 

"I'm just tired." 

"Yeah?" 

He nodded, resting his head on the brunette man's shoulder. 

"Alright, let's get you to bed, baby- _After_ we shower." Jack nodded again, though neither of them moved for a minute. Finally, when they left, it was a slow process. Jack more waddled than walked, and he leaned on Gabriel heavily. Gabriel muttered that he was going to grab them clean clothes, and Jack nodded and sat himself down on the bench outside. In a matter of seconds it seemed (though he could have fallen asleep again), Gabriel was jogging back to him, and they entered the showers together. There were still a few men lingering there, and the two of them undressed quickly, desperate to get all the grime off of themselves. They washed as quickly as they could, Jack spending a bit more time than was necessary on his hair, wishing that Gabriel could be the one doing it for him. Dried, dressed, done. They took a while to get back to their tent that they shared, but it happened finally. Gabriel left him to stand on his own while he pushed their cots together, directing the man to sit when he was finished. Jack wiggled out of his shoes and pants, opting to keep his shirt on simply so he didn't have to sit back up. Gabriel stripped down to his underwear and climbed onto the other cot, bringing the blankets over them. 

It took them a few more minutes to get settled, Jack resting his hand on Gabriel's thighs, the older man bring his arm under the blonde's head. After they were situated, Gabriel let out a shaky breath. He took another moment to think of exactly what he wanted to say. "I was so worried about you. If...If Angela hadn't had come when she had, I wouldn't know what to do. How pathetic is that, huh?" Jack moved his arms so that he could wrap them around the other man's neck, making sure that he could look him in the face. 

"It's not pathetic, Gabe. But, like I said, I'm okay, right? Angela said I was okay, the other doctor said I was okay, and I think they're right. You're okay too. But..." He looked away then. "You can't freeze up. If anything happens to me, you gotta...You gotta make sure that you're safe." Gabriel was shaking his head, even as Jack insisted, "Promise me that, please." 

"I can't do that, baby. You're always my first priority." 

"I...I'd be lying if I said I felt any different about you." Jack brushed his nose against Gabriel's, and the brunette man shut his eyes, expecting the kiss the followed, but still exhaling as though he were surprised.

He opened his eyes after after a moment, gazing at the blonde before him. "Jack?" Blue eyes met his own. "Te amo. Más que nada." Jack smiled, and kissed Gabriel again. 

"I love you too." 

 

 

\----------------

 

Gabriel walked past a seated Jack, pausing briefly to smash a quick peck on a pale cheek. Jack beamed up at him, and Gabriel climbed over the legs that Jack had situated on the coffee table in front of them. As soon as the older man sat next to him, Jack pressed into his side, and Gabriel was all too happy to put an arm over his shoulders, passing off the soda can to his other hand. He set one on his side of the table, and the other in front of Jack, who gave him a distracted 'thanks.' There was no one in the rec room with them, and they would be able to hear if anyone approached. Plenty of time to scramble to the opposite sides of the couch. 

The look that Jack was giving him right now told him that they weren't going to be watching the movie they had picked out earlier. At least not if Gabriel could help it. 

"Come here." And Jack did just that. Their lips brushed against each other and  _fuck,_ Jack was already half-closing his eyes. Gabriel fisted his hand in Jack's hair, bringing their mouths together harshly, but not enough to hurt. The younger moaned into Gabriel's mouth, and the dark haired man pulled away to smile lovingly at Jack, who was already out of breath after only one kiss. 

God damn he was easy. 

They connected again, this time a conscious effort on both their parts to get Jack to straddle Gabriel's legs. He pressed one knee into the couch on either side of the other man. Gabriel's thighs were so thick that it was a bit of a stretch, but Jack had practice with this sort of thing. 

Jack cupped Gabriel's face, holding it like it was precious. Gabriel kept one hand in blonde hair, the other roaming lower to cup at his ass. Without saying a word, both knew to breathe through their noses, not daring to break apart for an instant. It was only when Jack began to rub his hips against Gabriel's stomach (and 'coincidentally,' his ass against Gabriel's crotch), did they separate. He quickly looked over his shoulder, turning back to the man in his lap. "You sure no one's here?" 

"I can see over the back of the couch." 

"Not if you get all blissed out like you always do." 

"Gabe, please. Have some faith in me." 

At that, Gabriel bit Jack's bottom lip, eliciting a little gasp of surprise. He let go, making sure those blue eyes were concentrated on him. "I will always have faith in you." Jack smiled at that, a little pleased thing that he didn't even show his teeth for. He ground his hips down again, making sure that his lover could feel it. They were both wearing their military pants, and Jack had that fucking black shirt on that did absolutely nothing to hide how shaped his chest was. As much as Gabriel lived to see Jack's tits, especially up close, there was something nice and taunting about the material that separated his hands from skin. Gabriel cupped at Jack's pecs, pressing them together and rubbing his thumb over Jack's nipples until the younger let out a long, breathy groan. 

In response, Jack rubbed even harder, making sure Gabriel didn't just  _f_ eel it _,_ but that he  _felt it_  through his thick pants. Gabriel laid his head back, drawing out a "Mmmmm, baby, yeah." Though he placed a hand back on Jack's ass, nothing much else changed for a few minutes. They were both trying to keep quiet, though it was more difficult for Jack to do this.  _Always such a noisy slut._  Gabriel would rather die than have it any other way. 

Soon though, the older man began to have problems of his own as far as volume control went, so he pulled the neck down to Jack's shirt, beginning to suck on the pale skin he revealed. 

"You're gonna stretch it!" His whining was completely non-serious, which was evident even if he hadn't actually squeaked that out, fingers clutching tightly onto the back of the couch, enough so that his knuckles turned white. He was loving this, eyes starting to go hazy a bit, and Gabriel gave a little tug on his hair to ground him. 

"You have thirty of this exact shirt. Keep lookout too, mi vida." 

Jack let out a partially muted whine as soon as he felt teeth began to close on his neck instead of responding right away. "It's my favorite though." 

 _As if you could tell them apart any better than me._ Still though, he didn't pull the neck of it any more than he had to to reveal what he wanted. The chain holding his dog tags around his neck were not so much of an annoyance that they couldn't stay on. Within minutes there were seven dark marks on Jack's pale flesh, each serving as a milestone in breaking Jack's composure. He was hunched over the man beneath him, making himself seem smaller than he was. Gabriel licked a long line from in between Jack's collarbones, all the way up to the tip of his throat. Jack shivered, whined again, and Gabriel hushed him with gentle shh'ing. The blonde was getting closer, his grinding getting harder and more desperate. His tags were jingling loudly as he practically vibrated. There was no way he could concentrate on anything else except this. Gabriel took it upon himself to look behind them once more, just making absolute sure no one was close to stumbling in on them. 

Only once he was sure, did he pop open the button and zipper on Jack's pants. Immediately, the blonde breathed out a sigh of relief, only to be cut off by a moan as soon as Gabriel grasped his cock, giving it a little squeeze before pulling it out of his underwear. True to his assumptions, Jack's eyes were only just barely opened, glazed over and still just as pretty. God help him. As soon as he began pumping it, Jack's movements became more stuttered, more an attempt to buck into Gabriel's hand than to grind against him. 

Gabriel pushed his hips down with one hand, keeping the other on Jack's dick. He used the opportunity to rub himself against the other's ass, picking up the slack Jack had abandoned. 

"Please," the younger whimpered out. 

"Shh, baby, I got you." Jack let go of the couch so he could wrap his arms around Gabriel, chest heaving with the short breaths he was taking. There was no way he was going to last much longer, so with one final stroke of Gabriel's hand, Jack came. The older man hurriedly buried Jack's face into his shoulder, cutting off the cry before anyone could hear it and come running. 

Afterwards, Jack simply slumped down, leaving Gabriel to use his body to get himself off. His fingers dug into Jack's hips, winding through his belt loops so that he didn't have to run the risk of his hands slipping. Jack, to his credit, was lazily sucking just under Gabriel's jaw, one of his hands rubbing low on Gabriel's belly. Sweat was beginning to form on Gabriel's forehead, and his leg muscles were getting a little tired, but then Jack's eyes fluttered open to meet his own brown ones, and that's when he came, right in his fucking pants. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he'd have to do laundry later, but for now his arms fell to his sides, and the back of his head met the back of the couch. "God _damn_ , Morrison. You gotta stop doin' that eye thing." Jack said nothing, just brushed his nose against Gabriel's Adam's apple. 

They stayed like that for a while, Gabriel slowly coming back to his senses, Jack slowly falling asleep. He let out a soft whine when Gabriel shifted them so he could take off his shirt, balling it up so that no one could see Jack's mess. He used a clean area to wipe at his face, then tossing it next to them. Jack began tracing small spirals on Gabriel's bare side, mumbling something about liking that a lot, much to the dark haired man's glee. 

With as light as Jack's touches were, he began to get relaxed, too much so. He started awake when he heard voices almost directly behind them. The blonde on his lap was already asleep, and Gabriel hurriedly shifted him to the side, leaning him against the couch's armrest. Jack started to complain, but Gabriel hushed him. Two men that he barely knew were in the doorway, talking to each other. The only light in the room was from the large TV's menu screen, but if they flipped the switch then-

Oh god, then they would see that Jack's cock was still out, and there was a spot on Gabriel's pants. Before either of them could notice, he took care of Jack's problem, carefully shoving it back inside his underwear, and doing up his zipper and button. 

"Shit, Reyes? You tryin' to fuck him?" 

He glared at them. No, he wasn't trying to fuck the younger man, he'd done that already. Obviously they didn't know that, so he figured a simple, "No, dumbass," was enough. The other guy laughed, and Jack waved at them when they offered a greeting to him. When they came to sit in the chairs next to the couch, Jack picked up Gabriel's hoodie off the ground, and tossed it next to him on the couch. This was so subtle that no one noticed except Gabriel himself. The brat could be sneaky when he wanted to apparently. He hurriedly tied it around his waist, figuring he would get less shit for that than to reveal he had a fucking cum stain on his clothing. Jack had a satisfied look on his face that Gabriel couldn't help but love. 

After making somewhat awkward conversation for a while, Jack let out a huge yawn, mumbling that he was tired. Whether it was a real yawn, or just an excuse, the older man couldn't tell. Either way, Jack clumsily got off the couch, holding onto the side to keep his balance. 

Gabriel stood up then too. "I, uh, should walk him back. Nice talking to you guys." 

Jack gave a little two-fingered salute and his trademark grin. "Yep, nice talkin' to y'all. See ya' later," he echoed. Gabriel placed a hand between his shoulder blades, hoping that could be seen as platonic enough. Their mumbling after they left set him on edge, making him herd Jack perhaps faster than he should have. 

The blonde whirled around after a little while of this, eyes wide and eyebrows high. "Alright, enough. I'm not a damn sheep, Lassie." He snorted at his own joke, before his expression turned to one of concern. "What's wrong?" When Gabriel tried to look around them to see if anyone is near, he got a "Nuh-uh," and one of Jack's hands grasping his chin so he looked at him. "Seriously, I know those dudes, they're alright. Even if they walked in on us with your dick up my ass they'd be cool." 

"But  _I_ don't know them, I can't trust them." 

A quick exhale. "Even if...Even if someone were to catch us, to find out that we were dating, what would be the problem? We wouldn't get in trouble at all. Besides you get so jealous whenever you see other guys look at me."

This time when Gabriel looked around, Jack knew it was because he was more anxious than because he was trying to find anyone hiding, so he let him. And he waited patiently for an answer. And he waited. And he waited. Finally when he was about to open his mouth to dismiss the topic, Gabriel answered. "I don't want anyone to think I can't lead our group, or that I favor you too much. I'm worried that if someone finds out, then they'll either take me from the team, or make you leave it. I know we won't get reprimanded or anything, and I trust everyone on our strike team but..." He trailed off then, looking back into Jack's eyes. "I don't want to lose you. Seeing you next to me whenever we fight it's...It's the only way I know you're safe, the only way I can  _keep_ you safe." 

"Oh, Gabe..." 

"Yeah, I know it's stupid." 

"No, it's not. I didn't even think about all that. Besides, as hard as you drill my ass-in training, douche bag-no one would say that you're favoring me." 

Gabriel chuckled, shifting from one foot to the other. "I do that so I know you can take care of yourself." 

He smiled. "I know." Jack puts his hands on Gabriel's waist, and the older man sighs gently before brushing his nose against Jack's. 

"You are fuckin' impossible to resist." The grin that he got in return was the epitome of shit-eating, but Gabriel couldn't force himself to care when he captured Jack's lips with his own. It was late, there probably wouldn't be anyone roaming the halls. Still, he tried not to let himself get too into making out with his boyfriend, and ultimately failed. They separated quickly when they heard a cough, Gabriel frantically looking for the source. He saw no one, but he took Jack's hand in his and quickly led him back to their room. He let Jack in first, then followed after the shut the door behind them. 

"That," Gabriel started, "Was almost a very unexpected, and very unwelcome threesome." 

Jack laughed so hard he nearly fell onto the bed.

 

\----------------

 

 

"What, you think I  _wanted_ this?!" Jack cried out, bewildered. 

"Well you certainly fuckin' act like it." 

"I'm not going to fuck up my job and risk the lives of so many people just to stroke your damn ego! I never wanted this, Gabe, but I was chosen for it, and I'm not gonna let everyone die to prove a stupid fucking  _point."_

"They picked you to be their goddamn poster boy, that's it. They never expected you to do well." 

Jack's hurt expression was clearly readable, though he tried to mask it after a moment. "That's not...That's not true, is it?" 

Gabriel snorted, not bothering to wipe the sneer from his face or voice. "No, Jackie. They picked you for your  _outstanding_  military leadership, even though you never did shit to lead our strike team.  _I'm_  the one who kept everyone alive,  _I'm_ the one who had to bear the weight of our failures,  _I'm_ the one who had to keep everyone together to make sure it didn't happen again. But because you're some fuckin' pretty boy, they handed the title of Commander over to you on a silver platter. They never expected you to succeed, they just expected you to look like some hot, dumb slut for pictures." 

It had been nearly twenty years since Morrison was promoted to Strike Commander Morrison. It had been nearly twenty years since Gabriel was shoved off into Blackwatch, his time in the spotlight done and over with. He never could tell Jack everything that he had seen, everything that he had done. 

He kept everything secret to keep Jack from breaking. What he didn't account for was the fact that it broke him. 

He didn't want to have this conversation, one that he had rehearsed time and time again. The last thing Gabriel wanted to do was hurt Jack, but there was too much shit to hold in. He couldn't stand to see the reminder of the fact that he had no strength to resist Jack. Gabriel loved him too much to leave him, but he loved him too much to stay. It would just devastate Jack all the more when Blackwatch's activities all came to light. Overwatch wasn't doing too hot either, and they were the organization that actually did more good than harm. Yes, Gabriel was rightfully infuriated by the snub that kept him from being Commander. Yes, he was infuriated by the fact that Jack was given the position just because he looked too damn good in blue. Yes he was infuriated by the fact that Jack didn't turn down the position, or at least  _ask Gabriel about it._ But he wasn't angry with Jack. After the initial shock, he realized that it really wasn't Jack's fault, as easy as it would be to blame someone. It was this entire goddamn system.

Putting the final nail in his coffin would be so easy. Just mention the last mission, mention how they lost Ana and couldn't get all the hostages out of Talon's hands...But no matter what Gabriel couldn't do that to him. 

Still though, if after all this, Jack didn't kick Gabriel out then...God, he wouldn't be able to do it himself. If Jack hated Gabriel, then it would make everything so much easier. 

"Get out." 

"What? You can't handle the truth? Jesus christ if you yell at everyone like this when they upset you I'm amazed they haven't fired you yet—" 

"Get. The fuck out, Reyes." His voice wavered the first word, but he did remarkably well in controlling the rest of his sentence. It was a testament to how hardened he'd become that he wasn't crying yet. Gabriel couldn't help but feel a stab in his chest at that. 

From Jack's perspective, this must seem like it's coming out of left field. As much as Gabriel loved him, he could be fucking dense. He often thought that he was right no matter what, so to be told all of this, exaggerated or not, must be...Awful. Their relationship had gone from loving and healthy to this cold husk. Jack was so often angry that Gabriel wouldn't share his troubles, and Gabriel was so furious that Jack just couldn't  _let it go._

For a second, Gabriel remained in place, unsure of what to do. Jack opened his mouth to scream at him again, but Gabriel turned around and started to leave. That was, until he heard Jack softly, almost too softly to hear, say, "Don't come back." 

Gabriel wanted to slam the door behind him, but didn't have the energy. 

As soon as he was gone, Jack slunk to his knees, buried his face in his hands, and began to sob. 

 

\----------------

 

There was so much smoke everywhere. He was coughing, sputtering, trying in vain to inhale air that wasn't contaminated by black exhaust. 

His head hurt so bad. 

He didn't know where he was. 

He remembered...Nothing? He tried to concentrate, remembered faintly whispered "I love you's," remembered battlefields and death, remembered that he was supposed to die today. That's why he was at this base. He was going to be executed and—Fuck. What  _happened?_

It felt like the hardest damn struggle of his life just to get to his knees and sit like that. It was even harder removing his jacket so he could cover his mouth and nose with it. It wouldn't do much, but at least he wasn't getting raw debris in his lungs. Everything was so fucking hazy and dark. He couldn't tell if that was how it actually was, or if his vision was fucked up due to a head injury. God he hoped it was the former. When he felt his side and pulled his hand away, there was blood. He couldn't look down at the wound without feeling like his neck was breaking, so he just had to hope that it wasn't life-threatening. 

Fantastic. 

If he thought it was hard to get to sit upright, then it was almost fucking impossible to get to his feet. He started off by throwing himself forward to his hands touched the ground, and he tried bringing a knee up, gargling on the scream of pain that tried to force its way out. If it had, it damn well might have torn his throat. He fell once, twice, and then finally on his third try, he succeeded. Pushing all of his weight onto his knee, he slowly stood. He nearly bit through his lip trying to keep his shouts contained, and he most certainly had tears streaming down his face. He held onto his side, trying not to let the fact that he was going to die there overwhelm his thoughts. When he made to wipe the sweat out of his face, he realized with a little whimper that two long gashes had found there way there. Tenderly, he wiped the blood the best he could from his eyes, and found that his vision cleared slightly. Enough to see that there were corpses surrounding him. 

To say that he recognized a single one of them would be a lie, so he simply concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. Surely there had to be someone who could help, someone who survived this. Even if not then...Then maybe help would be coming. With a start, he realized that whoever showed up would be just as likely to put a bullet in his skull than to help him. 

So he kept walking. Each step more excruciating than the last, each breath becoming more labored than the last. 

He remembered...Gabriel. He remembered Gabriel yelling at him to get down, remembered something that...Well resulted in all of this. Jack tripped over a dead man's arm, a cement pillar breaking his fall. He slumped his chest and head against it, letting a sob escape his lips. Maybe he should just rest there for a minute, get his bearings back, come up with a plan. Looking around him, seeing all this death and destruction, it made him realize that he should be dead. He should be among them. So why wasn't he? He tried to rack his brain, tried so hard to remember anything, but the last thing he could come up with was being embraced as everything went dark. That couldn't be right though. It couldn't be. 

But if Gabriel was there, Jack needed to find him. He needed to get them out of there. Gabriel could be charged with treason for just helping Jack, so they needed to...

A thought hit him then, making his heart seize violently.  _What if Gabe's dead?_ He shook his head, slowly and carefully. There was no time to think like that. He wasn't with Jack when they went down, but even if he wasn't holding Jack like his memory suggested, then he was at least  _fucking nearby him._ If...If he was dead then Jack would have seen his body with the rest of them. He had to take several long, steadying breaths. His ribs protested with each one, but it was the only way he could think of to calm himself. 

Take a step. Take another one. He leaned heavily on whatever was left of the walls of the building until he got outside. The smoke was so much less dense in there, and he was beginning to see a bit better. 

He put a hand to his throat, rubbed it for a moment before letting out a strangled yell. "GABE?" There was no response and it hurt too badly to try again, but he did it anyway. "GABRIEL? REYES!" 

Still nothing. He would keep moving then, walk to the ends of the earth if he had to to find Gabriel Reyes. For whatever reason, he had saved Jack's life, even after they hadn't spoken for over a year. 

Jack spent the night hiding in the trees, not sleeping, but not awake either. He heard many voices, calling many names, sometimes even calling out Jack's own. But none of them were Gabriel's, so he didn't answer. He huddled closer to the bark of his shelter, wondering how he didn't die in the Swiss base. Wondering if he was going to die in the forest, or after. Wondering if those looking for him would find him. Wondering if Gabriel would find him. 

He drew his knees to his chest the best he could, and cried. 

 

\----------------

 

Gabriel watched as the old man in front of him took off his mask. He wasn't worried, if the man now calling himself 'Soldier 76' turned around, he could just wraith away. There was one benefit to what had become of him. He was in the darkest corner of the room, far away from where the dim light of the single lamp could reach. Though, he was starting to believe that if he was standing right in front of the grey haired man he still wouldn't be noticed. 

Everything about Jack Morrison said that he was exhausted, aching, despondent. 

The Reaper could do nothing for him. 

Correction: he  _wouldn't_ do anything for him. Jack had done nothing for him when he left him at that base all those years ago. So why should he do anything to help his long-ago lover? Besides that, Jack wouldn't even want his help. Undoubtedly he had heard of Reyes's involvement with that explosion that left so many people dead. He would be just as likely to kill Reaper upon sight as he would to talk. Perhaps a little more towards the aggressive option. 60/40 chance maybe. Gabriel watched as the soldier shrugged off his jacket, peeled off his shirt, and kicked off his pants all in a period of a few seconds. The only items left on him were his ancient dog tags that jingled delicately, and his underwear. 

Funny, he used to only get undressed that fast if Gabriel was with him. 

The cot that he called a bed was a sorry excuse for a sleeping arrangement, but that was none of Gabriel's business. Jack laid down, and faced away from Gabriel, tucking his hands under his head to assist the threadbare pillow. He had a few blankets, but didn't use any. It was cold, especially in this disgusting shack. Jack would probably freeze to death if he didn't get some sort of cover, but again—Why would Reaper care? 

With the way his breathing slowed down over the course of an hour, Gabriel could tell that he fell asleep. He made his way out of the dingy little hell hole, pausing only a moment to grab a blanket from the nearby chair and drape it over the already shivering man. He didn't know why he did it, but felt immensely satisfied now that it was done. 

When he left, he didn't look behind him. He'd be back to see if the dumb bastard got himself killed soon enough anyway. 

 

\----------------

 

Jack tucked a lock of curly, dark hair behind Gabriel's ear, smiling after he did so. 

Gabriel smiled back, bumping Jack's nose with his own. "What was that for?" 

"Someone's gotta take care of you," was the reply. The blonde was smug and as happy as could be, and Gabriel would give anything in the world to keep him like this. They were sitting so that their bodies faced opposite directions, but their hips were nearly on top of each other. Jack was cross-legged, and Gabriel had his own spread out. They were comfortable, warm, peaceful. 

"If you're taking care of me, who's taking care of you?" Jack looked up at the ceiling as if had to think about his answer. 

"I think a man by the name of Gabriel Reyes is doing a pretty decent job. You know him?" 

Gabriel laughs, and kisses him. Jack's arms immediately go around his shoulders, and Gabriel pulls away for just a second so he can push Jack down gently. "No, but if he gets to see you every day he sounds like a lucky man." The younger man practically giggles and smacks the older's shoulder. Gabriel leans down again so he can kiss him again, smiling into it. Jack turns his face so that he can look into Gabriel's eyes. He places one hand on a scruffy cheek and fists the other in his shirt. He obviously wants to say something, so Gabriel listens. It takes a minute, but when he speaks it's so heartfelt it nearly brings Reyes to tears. 

"I love you, Gabriel." 

"I love you too." 

**Author's Note:**

> OKAY! i am SO sorry it took me absolutely forever to update. i know i said i wanted to write more over the summer but...gosh that did not happen. basically my days were spent playing dragon age, and my nights were spent playing overwatch. which led to this! also, i am not abandoning moi poldsdlfj, it's just. on hold until i can get my life on a schedule again. sorry about that too. 
> 
> you can follow me on tumblr here:
> 
> [whillowed](http://whillowed.tumblr.com/)
> 
> you can follow for updates, and ask me questions/send comments n stuff! also if anyone live blogs this, feel free to @ me or tag my url in it!! if anyone would draw something plEEAAAASE @ me in it oh my god i would die of joy. that being said, no one has to do either but if you do it would be nice to know and i'd love to see it! 
> 
> me and iridian created a spotify playlist for reaper76 and i'm ngl it's good. you can find that
> 
> [here!](https://open.spotify.com/user/22ohf35fkcwkxrtd7vygohata/playlist/3cLNB4KHtJBdPUhe5gbEPC)
> 
> well that about wraps it up. again, feel free to send me questions/comments over my tumblr (i have a much higher chance of replying to those because i often forget to on ao3), comment, spread the word, idk go nuts. i'll probably write more of reaper76 bc this pairing owns my ass. maybe i'll do pharmercy too idk depends on how ambitious i am lol 
> 
> thank you for reading!


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